Men’s lacrosse: Maryland adds Conry, Farrell to coaching staff

Head men’s lacrosse coach John Tillman announced today that Kevin Conry has been hired as Maryland’s assistant coach/defensive coordinator and that Brian Farrell will be joining the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant.

“I’m pleased to welcome Kevin to the Maryland men’s lacrosse program and to have Brian come back to College Park as a part of our staff,” said Tillman.

“Kevin is one of the outstanding young coaches in the country and has a proven track record,” said Tillman of Conry. “But just as importantly, he has tremendous character and embodies the characteristics of a Maryland defense – tough, hard working and loyal.”

Conry comes to College Park after a successful five-year stint at Fairfield, where he was the Stags’ associate head coach for the past two seasons. He was responsible for turning around a defensive unit that ranked 39th in the nation prior to his arrival into a unit that ranked among the top 16 in the country in each of the past three seasons.

In addition to the six-on-six defensive improvements, Conry also helped the Stags improve in man-down defense, with Fairfield ranking among the top 17 in the nation since 2010.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to join Coach Tillman’s staff and become a part of the Maryland men’s lacrosse tradition,” said Conry. “Coming into such a storied program in the toughest and best lacrosse conference in the nation is a challenging task, but it is a challenge that I welcome. I’m eager to get to work and look forward to helping the student-athletes get better on and off the field.”

Conry was also a big factor in Fairfield’s recruiting efforts, including the Stags’ 2013 freshman class, which was ranked the 12th-best incoming class in the country, according to Inside Lacrosse.

Prior to joining the Fairfield coaching staff, Conry spent the 2007 season at Penn State, where he helped recruit the 2008 Nittany Lions’ freshman class, which Inside Lacrosse ranked the fifth-best class in the nation. Penn State finished the 2007 season with the 13th-best defense in the country, allowing just 7.92 goals per game. Conry started his coaching career at Sienna, where he served as an assistant from 2004-06.

A 2004 graduate of Johns Hopkins, Conry was a four-year member of the Blue Jays lacrosse team, helping the squad to a runner-up finish in the 2003 NCAA Division I Championship. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at Hopkins and went on to earn a master’s of Science in Education from the University of Albany in 2006.

A native of Rockville Centre, N.Y., Conry is married to the former Elizabeth Hannan.

Farrell, a three-time All-America long pole, returns to his alma mater after finishing a storied Terrapin career in 2011, helping lead the Terps to an ACC championship and a berth in the NCAA championship game.

“Brian is a Terp through and through, being a two-time team captain and having a father who played here and a sister who plays on the women’s team, and that’s important to this program,” said Tillman of Farrell. “As a player, Brian always displayed a high lacrosse IQ and combining that with his ability to relate to today’s student-athletes makes this a tremendous addition to our program.”

The Towson, Md., native is the highest-scoring defensive player in the history of Maryland men’s lacrosse, Farrell finished his career with 49 points on 29 goals and 20 assists. The two-time Tewaaraton Trophy nominee also racked up 168 groundballs and 82 caused turnovers during his career.

Farrell has continued his success as a professional, helping the Boston Cannons win the 2011 Major League Lacrosse championship and earn a berth in the 2012 playoffs. In his two MLL seasons, Farrell has totaled 10 goals, including one two-pointer, five assists and 54 groundballs. Farrell was elected to the 2012 MLL All-Star game’s Young Guns team and scored a two-point goal in the game.

Maryland is coming off of a 2012 season that saw the Terps compile a 12-6 record and advance to their second-straight NCAA title game.